It’s an immersion that lasts all weekend, with music in every shade of indigo at the . . . Tampa Bay Blues Festival [Design: Audra Buck]

Cover Story
Blue weekend
Forget blue Monday; the Tampa Bay Blues Festival will be around for the entire weekend. It's bigger and better than ever -- and it's right here at home.

Blues in the night . . .
When Marcia Ball's piano gets in the mood indigo, an audience should still expect to shake a leg.

The Tampa Bay Blues Festival: Preview
The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Friday through Sunday at Vinoy Park, on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg. Tickets at the gate are $20 for Friday, $25 for Saturday, $20 for Sunday.

Jeff Healey
For Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey, the blues is a happening thing, always open to new influences and transforming itself into fantastic, innovative shapes.

Los Lobos
For Los Lobos, finding the band's voice involved going back to its heritage, then expanding the sound with more recent influences.

Who's who at the festival
Jonny Lang

Film
Willy Wonka meets James Bond
Spy Kids, full of outlandish gadgets, 007 moments and silly jokes, is a movie the targeted audience will love.

Persall's Top Five
Recent releases recommended by Times film critic Steve Persall

Family Movie Guide
The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children.

Indie Flix
Movies in limited release:

Also in Theater
Bachelor's fortune

Scott Mueller wins Times Oscar contest
Don't feel bad. This year's St. Petersburg Times Oscar Contest champion didn't think Marcia Gay Harden would win Sunday night, either.

Video
Head for Paris with the Rugrats
NEW RELEASES

Video: Coming attractions and rankings
COMING DVD ATTRACTIONS:

Pop
Team Pop Trivia
This week's winner: Rebecca Whitley of Tampa knew that Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas first collaborated in a singing group called the Mugwumps, mentioned in the M&P hit Creeque Alley.

Pop: Hot Ticket
Bobby 'Blue' Bland in Tampa

Pop: On the horizon
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday for Lil Bow Wow with Lil Johnny, B2K, Roc and DJ Shakim, appearing at 7:30 p.m. May 25 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $30 at the box office: (813) 229-7827 or Ticketmaster: (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100.

Get Away
Spring arrives, St. Petersburg-style
St. Petersburg has welcomed spring with the Festival of States for the past 80 years.

Get Away: Hot Ticket
Seeing stars

Get Away: Down the road
Events to watch for; details in future editions of Weekend

Art
A change of expression
He's exhibiting in a new medium. And the reasons local artist Jack Breit moved from photography to digital art actually answer many questions raised about electronic creativity.

Art: Best bets
Art critic Mary Ann Marger's recommendations for this weekend. Please refer to the Art Calendar for details.

Art: Hot Ticket
Look beyond the surface

Dine
Beef eaters in paradise
Families flock to Cody's Original Roadhouse to feast on hearty meals they don't have time to make for themselves.

Worth the Drive
Old South's taste in a theme-park world

Side dish
IN THE OVEN

Stage
In a singular musical orbit
The all-woman Ensemble Galilei achieves a harmonious fit of Celtic and early music.

'Carousel' is bustin' out in Hudson
It's easy to love this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with its well-known melodies and achingly sweet romance.

Stage: On the horizon
Wopat -- Annie Get Your Gun stars Tom Wopat at Van Wezel Hall April 10-15. $25-$65.

Stage: Hot Ticket
Adapted from adoption

Shop
Fooling around
Trickery rules on the first day of April, when fooling family and friends is both sanctioned and encouraged. The inventory of practical-joke material in the marketplace is vast and often centers on potty humor. We'll spare you those.

In the market
BRITTON PLAZA ADDITION

Time Out
Writers share their love of words
Hillsborough libraries plan a monthlong celebration of poetry.